I loved my Lion days — but my children are loving their Griffin days

I was very encouraged by the unanimous joint action taken by the Elizabethtown-Lewis and Westport Boards of Education at their presentation of the Merger Feasibility Study on Nov. 30 to pursue the next step in gathering information to help determine whether a merger is a good option for the future of our communities.

I applaud the work they have already done and their cautious progression.

I was a green and gold ELCS Lion for my entire childhood. In that time, my father served on the board. Enrollment was high, the economy was good, and budgets were healthy. A merger was studied, considered and rejected.

My parents were ELCS Lions for their entire school experience. My grandparents served on the BOE during that time. Our communities were thriving and enrollment was high. Merging was not needed.

My grandfather Fenimore attended a successfully merged Elizabethtown-Lewis school in what is now the museum, bringing students from one-room schoolhouses into a district with more class offerings, better facilities and sports teams. They had a gym for the first time and their colors were blue and gold!

My grandfather Merrihew was a Westport Eagle and my great-grandfather Merrihew served on the WCS BOE. Like the new ELCS, WCS was a step up for students who had previously gone to small schools in Westport, Wadhams, Whallonsburg and Lewis.

Times have changed again. Our programming is suffering from low enrollment and budgetary constraints.

Our communities have read the writing on the wall in the past to decide the best path for the future of our children. I hope our communities do the same now. Please become informed about how our districts have changed.

Please do not respond with, “They have looked at merging over and over and it never works.” It may work this time, as it has several times in our communities in the past, and we owe it to our children to consider it again.

Please do not put colors or mascots above a quality education. Those of us who have been involved with Griffin teams have seen that students will embrace a new identity with enthusiasm.

Please do not assume that a merger will cause your taxes to go up. The feasibility study indicates that this should not be the case. Unless we wait too long and the incentive aid is no longer offered by the state.

An actual merger is years down the road, but the boards are wisely moving slowly and gathering all of the information they need to make a good plan.

Eventually, these steps will require community votes. I ask you, for the sake of our students, please find out why a merger is being studied at this time.

Please look up the results of the feasibility study. Please ask a parent why they want more for their children than what we can currently offer. And when it comes time, please support the next step in the study so that we have the information we need to make the best decision possible.

I loved my Lion days. But my children are loving their Griffin days. And so am I. Let’s consider what has saved our sports and look into saving our education, too.